Neighbor Conquers Fear In Fire Rescue

December 06, 1994|By Larry Hartstein, Tribune Staff Writer.

When Frederick Roseman was 8 or 9 years old and visiting his godmother in Chicago, he fell asleep on her bed and awoke to find the mattress in flames. His godmother had also dozed off, while smoking a cigarette.

Although Roseman was not hurt, the incident has haunted him since. "There're certain things you think about, worry about all the time," he said Monday. "One of mine is being in a fire. It's one of my phobias."

Early Monday, Roseman overcame that fear. He rescued his 78-year-old neighbor from her burning 1 1/2-story frame house on the South Side, pulling the semi-conscious woman down a flight of stairs and out the back door. The woman, Mary Dale, who suffered first- and second-degree burns and smoke inhalation, was in serious but stable condition at Cook County Hospital.

"I just saw something that needed to be done and I was lucky to do it," Roseman, a product analyst at CNA Insurance, said Monday night as he relaxed on his living room sofa, still a bit overwhelmed by all the recognition he was getting.

The blaze began shortly after 2 a.m. in a second-floor bedroom, apparently sparked by a lit cigarette, said 23rd District Battalion Chief Tim Hynes. Hynes and Department of Human Services spokesman Henry Locke said they believe Dale lives in the home at 7934 S. Burnham Ave. with her daughter and five grandchildren. Dale was the only one hurt.

Roseman, who lives two doors to the south, said he was awakened by a woman screaming for someone to call the Fire Department. He said he ran outside, saw flames "hopping out" an upstairs window, and went back inside to call 911.

When he emerged again, a woman was yelling, "Mama, come out!", Roseman said. Just then he spotted a little girl standing in the front hallway, frozen in her tracks.

Some burning debris fell behind him as he ran out of the home with the girl. "That was the only close call I had," Roseman said.

Meanwhile, Dale's daughter, was still screaming for her mother, Dale said. Roseman zipped back into his house, went out the back door, and hopped both his fence and the one surrounding Dale's yard. He said he kicked the back door open and entered the burning house.

"There was smoke, not a lot, but I could hear the fire crackling," Roseman said. "I could hear somebody moaning. I got to the top of the stairs. She was right at the top on the right side, laying on the floor."

Grabbing her arms, Roseman slowly pulled the limp woman downstairs. When he got to the kitchen, Roseman received help from another neighbor, Willie Walker, who had come in through the front door and who said the inside of the house was "like fog" from the smoke. Walker and Roseman carried Dale out the back door to wait for an ambulance.

Dale was initially taken to South Shore Hospital before being transferred to Cook County Hospital.

Locke, the Department of Human Services spokesman, said Dale's daughter and the five grandchildren are staying with a relative.

Battalion Chief Hynes said the blaze was brought under control within 20 minutes but caused heavy damage to the second floor. "It almost burnt the roof off," he said.

Roseman, who said he swallowed "a bit of smoke," insisted he wasn't a hero, saying he would not have attempted to go into the burning bedroom. He said Dale was saved because she made it out of the bedroom into the hallway.

"He did an excellent job in entering the structure, risking his life to rescue this elderly woman," Marquez said. "Anytime you run into a house that's on fire, you take a great risk to your life. Many people have died just doing that act right there."